Premier League mulling two-week ‘circuit-breaker’ with COVID-19 cases on the rise — report

Considering that the Daily Mail ran a story about Reece James and Frank Lampard based on a Reece James fanpage on Instagram — which, after nearly 24 hours, is still up! — I’m not sure how much weight to give their story about a potential COVID “circuit-breaker” for the Premier League, but it does fit with the wider reporting and situation in the league and around England.

The Mail claim that the UK government have held talks with “football authorities” over the growing number of confirmed coronavirus cases — at all levels of football — and that Premier League clubs have had “informal discussions” (whatever that means) over a potential two-week suspension to help curb and somewhat control the situation.

The league’s latest round of testing identified a record 18 new cases, and combined with the uncertainty at Manchester City, plus the number of infected and isolating at clubs like Sheffield United and Fulham, just to name a couple, it may not be the worst idea to put a temporary halt to things. Some clubs are already looking at an extended break anyway, including potentially Chelsea, if our next two fixtures, against Manchester City and Morecambe, are both postponed due to the current COVID-19 outbreaks at those clubs. (We’re supposed to find out the fate of the former later today, Wednesday.)

The story adds the the league and the clubs have stepped up enforcement of various protocols and have urged players to adhere to more strict isolation to help protect the bio-bubble of the league and keep the games going.